Plow what?

Wednesday

Feb 29, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Let's see. It snowed on Oct. 29 and again on Jan. 21. That rain we had last Friday amounted to half a foot of snow in Bangor. And you know that six inches of snow that is supposed to start today? The National Weather Service now says maybe 1-1 ¼ inches will fall.

Deborah McDermott

Let's see. It snowed on Oct. 29 and again on Jan. 21. That rain we had last Friday amounted to half a foot of snow in Bangor. And you know that six inches of snow that is supposed to start today? The National Weather Service now says maybe 1-1 ¼ inches will fall.

Scott Berger said he's kept track of every single solitary day of this very unusual winter. He checks about six different weather sources every day, constantly, as he has since he took over about 50 snow plow accounts from his dad, Art, about 15 years ago.

Over the years, Scott Berger has kept meticulous records of snowfall amounts and number of times plowed in one snow event.

"I have never seen a winter like this," he said.

It's been a lean winter for people who plow snow, the leanest anyone can remember. New trucks purchased after the incredible winter of 2010-11 when there were 17 snow events sit idle, because after all, gas is inching up to $4 a gallon.

"I've got three tractors and a bunch of plow trucks. I bought two trucks this year for plowing that are basically just sitting there," said John Patten of Patten Grounds Care in Ogunquit, who plows 800 properties in York, Ogunquit and Wells.

Patten hires six men full-time, year-round and another couple dozen in the summer who work snowstorms in the winter if they're needed.

This year, he said, they were not.

He's managed to keep his full-time workers busy, trimming and pruning trees, cutting trees for firewood, "painting my living room. Who knows, we may be painting it again before this winter's over," he said with a laugh.

He said with 800 accounts, mostly residential, "it's a pretty big part of my income. We're not going to starve, but we're not living high on the hog, either. I try to budget on the green season and never have budgeted on the winters. That's a good thing this year."

He said if anyone needs an indication of just how wacky the winter has been, look no further than a call he got in January: A customer wanted him to spread mulch on a planting bed, "so we spread 20 yards of mulch in January. That was a first."

Diversification is the key to getting through any Maine winter, said Kevin Barrett at Straw Hat Lawn Care in York. He has 60 accounts, mostly commercial, and in addition to plowing he also sands and salts, "so we've received some revenue that way this year."

"Still, this is the leanest winter we've ever had, for sure," Barrett said.

That suits Tom Chase just fine. His 70 plow accounts tend to take time away from his bread-and-butter tree service business. In fact, it can even be a hindrance.

"I'm busier without the snow. Tree work is a lot easier when you don't have to tromp through the snow," said Chase, who is usually "100 jobs ahead year-round" providing tree service. "Most people are crying they didn't get so much snow. Works out better for me. I hope it's the same next winter."

For Kevin Barrett, though, sanding and salting hasn't quite cut it this winter.

He said he's cut "way back on controllable expenses" such as travel, fuel, and equipment purchases.

On the personal side, because Straw Hat is a family-owned business, "some of the things we might like to do, we just haven't. The bills are getting paid, but there's no extra," he said.

But he sees a potential silver lining to the cloud. Often people budget for snow plowing, setting aside money so they'll have it to pay the bill. In past winters when there's been little snow, he's found people are more likely in the spring to spend some additional money on landscaping.

"We'll have to see," he said.

The plowing averages out, said Barrett. There were those 17 storms last year, and only seven the year before that, but during the 2008-09 winter, there were 21 events. He knows. He's got the records.

"This year is going to go down in the books," he said. "But there's always next winter."

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